Operational Excellence Specialist Job at Ajinomoto Foods North America, Inc. (Portland)

Operational Excellence Specialist

Ajinomoto Foods North America, Inc.

Location:
United States , Portland

Category:
Manufacturing

Contract Type:
Not provided

Salary:

Not provided

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Job Description:

The factory Operational Excellence (OpEx) Specialist is responsible for analyzing and improving factory processes within our Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) journey to improve equipment reliability, reduce downtime, reduce food loss, and enhance the overall operational efficiency (OEE) in our food manufacturing facility. This position will lead and develop others within the factory loss analysis program, problem solving process and OEE reporting. This role will be required to perform additional duties and responsibilities as assigned, which may evolve based on organizational needs.

Job Responsibility:

Factory Loss Analysis Leadership
With support of the Operational Excellence Manager, collect data, analyze data, identify specific losses and prioritize losses within the factory’s OEE, downtime, raw material loss, labor loss, etc.
Provide effective visual sharing and guidance of losses to the factory leaders and team members to action against
Ensure the appropriate loss analysis is provided on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis
Problem Solving Leadership
Lead and develop others in the usage of our root cause analysis tools (STPD, BDA, etc.) to drive continuous improvement
Ensure the health and wellness of our problem-solving tools meet the standards for analysis and corrective actions and preventative actions
Implement verification steps on solutions for sustainability and if possible, reapplication to other similar equipment or situations
OEE Reporting Ownership
Own the OEE reporting program from data collection, loss analysis, loss categorization and monitoring to ensure reporting is done effectively and correctly
Provide OEE reporting internally to the factory leadership and team members that will use the loss identification within the continuous improvement activities
Lead and develop others in the understanding of the OEE loss categories with the availability, performance and quality components

Requirements:

Minimum Associate of Science degree in a STEM field (Engineering, Food Science, Technology, Math, etc.) required
Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM field or active enrollment in a 4-year STEM degree program preferred
Experience in lieu of degree will be considered
Minimum 2 years of manufacturing experience in a leadership role, preferable in the food industry
Knowledge of TPM methodology, specifically focus improvement (FI) pillar methodologies or a continuous improvement program is required
Demonstrated leadership skills
ability to motivate, develop and inspire others
Excellent leadership, communication, problem solving skills, and change management
Strong analytical abilities and the administration background in systems used in data gathering, loss analysis, etc.
Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with others, specifically with all factory personnel levels
Proven track record of driving results in a factory environment
Certifications in advanced CI tools preferred

Nice to have:

Certifications in advanced CI tools preferred
Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM field or active enrollment in a 4-year STEM degree program preferred
Preference will be given to those with a degree in engineering or to those actively enrolled in an engineering program

Additional Information:

Job Posted:
May 05, 2026

Employment Type:

Fulltime

Work Type:

On-site work

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